Arts & Culture
Edinburgh’s best bookshops
Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Edinburgh. There’s something about the city that just radiates nostalgic indulgence. The pub (Read More)
Travel
Travel
Brits abroad must support cats and dogs abroad
On a recent trip to Greece, I was struck by the number of stray cats (Read More)
Travel
Why Spain and Britain are two peas in a pod
The funny thing about Spain and Great Britain is they’re really the two distant cousins (Read More)
Brexit
Why Brexit matters in Almeria
FOR British expatriates living in Almeria, Brexit is the elephant in the room. Everyone will (Read More)
Travel
Trains, planes and bins: how Almeria works
In Spain, as in the UK for that matter, government and bureaucracy can often seem (Read More)
Travel
Understanding political parties in Almeria
Do you know your PP from your PSOE, and what they stand for? Firstly, since (Read More)
Travel
Who’s who in Almeria
In Almeria, like politics everywhere, it can be a little difficult to know who the (Read More)
Travel
Why you should visit Albox
A very dear friend once wrote to me that Andalusia is an untapped marvel in (Read More)
Travel
Expatriates need to stop calling themselves ‘expats’
A peculiar thing happens to British people when they move abroad, and we’re all guilty (Read More)
Arts & Culture
A Grave in the Sky
The flight to a foreign land, a land called evil. Yearns for their death is (Read More)
Art, Design & Photography
Montpellier: Why it out-sexes Paris
Listen up, mesdames et messieurs: it is time to rethink your plans for a romantic getaway in Paris. Madness, you say? Just hear me out – I’ve been there, lived there and would happily give away the old T-shirt. (Read More)
Arts & Culture
Writing is a right that should be embraced
The writers’ game is not an easy one. The fact of the matter is it (Read More)
Environment & Energy
Rich Western Countries Are Not Doing Enough to Reduce Global Inequality
As part of a government programme, I volunteered in a rural Nicaraguan community with a (Read More)
History & Philosophy
The Alhambra, populism and the dangers of an ignorant population
‘Western civilisation is more connected than ever, yet the ability of populations to discern fact from fiction and to decide which is an outright lie has declined. In the case of Trump, what is curious, is the presumption that politicians and leaders will lie seems to have reached a satirical impasse. There’s the cliche that politicians or someone in public life will lie but surely they can’t lie that much. There is an implicit presumption and trust that they could never go that far and it has allowed, with the absence of historical knowledge, deception, and hyperbole to become commonplace.’ (Read More)
Travel
Steps towards more sustainable tourism
With the holiday season underway, thousands of Brits will be travelling to a variety of foreign destinations; some heading to cities and resorts and some travelling to much more remote destinations. Wherever we go, our role as tourists has the potential to impact and accentuate serious issues facing the countries we visit. Whilst travel offers a fantastic opportunity to switch off from the intensity of work and studying, are we staying switched on to the full impact of our actions abroad? (Read More)
Travel
Why a returning flight is the least relaxing journey in the world
These thoughts, of course, all congeal together to make the return flight a tedious slow motion haze of recognisable cliché. No, I don’t want a menu. No, I don’t want anything to eat. No, I don’t want a lottery ticket, duty-free items, charity donation forms or anything else from the tat rags they pedal at 30,000 feet. There’s also a special place in hell for anyone that keeps repeatedly bumping your shoulder as they march past you down the aisle. (Read More)
Travel
Why travelling home is the most relaxing journey in the world
When living abroad and going home intersect, usually when you’re travelling to and fro, each place becomes a series of distinct, episodic memories. It’s a surprisingly purifying ritual to travel home and remember with unforced clarity what have been the accomplishments and can-do-better moments of the last few months. (Read More)
Lifestyle
Review: El Tonel / Almerimar
The Southern Spanish tradition of serving a small portion of food with a drink is a bonus for the holidaying Brit and a curious counterpoint to the perennial 3am kebab. (Read More)
Travel
Gibraltar might be living history, but it needs to change
That’s not even the weird part. Cross over from Spain and your next obstacle is to walk across North Front Airfield. To divine an understanding as to why someone thought this design was a good idea is to divine the meaning of life at the same time. For all that Gibraltar looks British it’s probably the last hold out against health and safety as 747s are taking off from a runway which intersects Winston Churchill Avenue, the main north-south street, which requires movable barricades to close when aircraft land and depart. The History Channel programme Most Extreme Airports ranked the airport the fifth most extreme airport in the world and it’s no wonder. (Read More)
Travel
We cannot rely on niceties alone to defend UK citizens abroad
My country: What does it mean to me when I’m abroad?
This question forms a remarkably regular part of your thoughts when you’re sitting a thousand miles from home and 347 miles from the nearest British embassy in Madrid. For some the answer begins and ends with a British passport or the inconvenience of customs or the ridiculously high phone tariffs that signal being abroad. For others, the question never even occurs, but for those of a more pontificating or alarmist disposition, the question becomes whether or not the UK can protect its citizens if they get into real trouble abroad.
(Read More)
Travel
A Biblical disaster isn’t always bad
So here we are. There were few cars. There were no people. And it was 2am in the morning at this point. It was genuinely bad. Thank God we kept our heads (we didn’t at all, hyperbole and drama and laughing off trouble has been the silent third partner to our duo for over 13 years). (Read More)
Travel
Cattle class with Ryanair
Ryanair has all the charm of an old whore who charges too much. I don’t despise flying. It’s the whole system. As soon as you arrive at the airport you’re treated as a commercial puppy; either too stupid to see that the markup is so through the roof as to break a Zimbabwean bank or you’re condescended to in such a way as to make you question your own faculties at 4am. (Read More)
Travel
Homage to El Ejido
Living abroad for ten months, with a ten-day visit home at Christmas, dulls the senses a bit. It’s July now and after so long away and either by necessity or circumstance home becomes an intangible lucid dream in the back of your head: it’s so familiar that when you invoke it you’re there with every detail. When you return to Her Majesty’s shores the same thing can be said of El Ejido, where I work or Almerimar where I live. Sandy beaches, beautiful vistas and a deep love for my job teaching English: you get the gist. (Read More)
Scotland
Thoughts on Scottish weather
Scotland is a great place to study and write, chiefly because the weather is so bad. I’m only half joking. Well, no I’m completely not joking at all. (Read More)
Travel
My Selfish Altruism: Voluntouring in Cambodia
There had been no training, no police check, no request for my CV – just a dried up whiteboard marker and twenty pairs of Cambodian eyes peeping out from haystack hair, expecting some kind of magic. (Read More)
